Sterile meat was thawed rapidly (in about 5 min) by submerging the package in a 50°C water bath, inoculated with enough cells ( 10 ml/100g of meat) for a final population of ca. 109 stationary- phase cells per g, and stomached for 90 s in sterile no.400 polyethylene stomacher bags using a Stomacher® 400.
The results of this study indicate that treating bison, ostrich, alligator, and caiman meats with ionizing radiation is an appropriate method to control contamination by Salmonella spp. and S. aureus. Based on the average D values, and the minimum dose currently approved for the irradiation of poultry (1.5 kGy), gamma irradiation would eliminate 2.8 and 4.m g units of Salmonella spp. and S. aureus, respectively.
